The ABS released the latest edition of Australian Social Trends (cat. no. 4102.0) on 30 June 2010. The publication draws together a wide range of statistics from the ABS and other official sources to provide a picture of Australian society and how it is changing over time.

The latest edition features six articles:

Population growth: past, present and future

Men's health

Child care

Underemployment

Who's afraid? Feelings of personal safety

Environmental awareness and action

The publication shows that:

The Australian Capital Territory had the highest rates of concern about the environment and climate change. In the Australian Capital Territory, nine-tenths of adults (90%) were concerned about the environment and 81% of adults were concerned about climate change.

More adults in the Australian Capital Territory reported sorting out recyclable from non-recyclable waste than other states and territories. The Australian Capital Territory had the highest rates of recycling (93%) while the Northern Territory and Western Australia had the lowest (64% and 69% respectively).

The proportion of adults who felt unsafe when alone in certain situations was lower in the Australian Capital Territory (19%) than the national average (26%) and considerably lower than the proportion in the Northern Territory (35%) or Western Australia (31%).

MEASURES OF AUSTRALIA'S PROGRESS: REGIONAL DATA

Measures of Australia's Progress (cat. no. 1370.0) tries to answer the question: 'is life in Australia getting better?' The next edition is due for release on 15 September 2010 as a web based publication. There will be spreadsheets containing the data used in MAP available to download and for the headline indicators, state and territory data will also be available (where applicable). The publication will also include, for the first time, a slim-line brochure which highlights key information from MAP.